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Monthly Archives: January 2016
Thoughts on Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, with Digressions (by Bethany)
I think most lifelong readers must have mental lists of the gaps in their reading experience – the books that everyone else has read but that they haven’t. Fahrenheit 451 has been on my list for years – and, actually, … Continue reading
A Review of Brian Morton’s Florence Gordon (by Bethany)
First thing’s first: why would anyone give a novel a title that rhymes with his name? Seriously – try saying it five times fast: Brian Morton Florence Gordon. See the problem? What does that even mean, psychologically speaking? Is it … Continue reading
Thoughts on James Agee’s A Death in the Family (by Bethany)
A while ago, I posted about something called the Countdown to Concision challenge. For the first year and a half we had this blog, my posts typically ran in the 3500-4000-word range, and I wanted to coax myself to get … Continue reading
‘And Don’t Have Any Kids Yourself’: Philip Larkin, Charles Darwin, and the Biology of Choice
In graduate school I loved Larkin’s poem “This Be the Verse” – who doesn’t? – but I was determined to find it somehow ironic. I’d like to say that I had read enough of Larkin’s to know that much of … Continue reading
Read-For-Maybe-Two-Hours Friday (by Bethany)
I was all set to start a new tradition today: Read-All-Day Friday. Friday is the only day each week that I predictably don’t have any work commitments, and since I’ve been feeling a little short on high-quality me time lately, … Continue reading
Final thoughts on John Williams’ Augustus (by Jill)
Remember how on Tuesday I said that we never get to have Augustus’ voice tell us anything in the novel? Well, guess what Part III of the book is? That’s right, it’s Augustus Caesar’s final letter, written to his friend … Continue reading
Yarn Along
I’m still not much of a knitter these days, but my English rib sweater is almost done. I’m sure I’ll get the neckband done this weekend, and then I’ll weave in the ends maybe… in April? May? Just kidding. … Continue reading
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This is supposed to be a progress report on John Williams’ Augustus, but I have a feeling it’s going to turn into me feeling sorry for myself because I’m far away from home and getting a cold. (by Jill)
Here’s the deal. I have about fifty pages to go in Augustus, and I really, really want to finish it before I write a post about it, but I need to talk about something tonight. I’ve been whining in … Continue reading
Early Thoughts on Michel Houellebecq’s Submission
I suspect that this book will go down in literary history not for its merits but for its eerie timeliness. It was published in French earlier this year, but the English translation was released just a few weeks before the … Continue reading
That Time Shakespeare Woke Up One Morning and Invented Modern Narrative: Final Thoughts on The Winter’s Tale
I feel a little silly for wondering why Shakespeare titled this play The Winter’s Tale, especially since I used to devote a week or so in 10th-grade English to the way seasons are used metaphorically in poetry, including Shakespeare’s – … Continue reading
Postcards From Purgatory 